Almost There
by A Beautiful Oblivion
Summary: Something I had to write for school; my parents and teacher said it was really good so I posted it on here. This is just an alternate ending to the book... Nothing special, but read and tell me what you think!


**Hey! This story is something I actually had to do in class; we were reading this book and were told to rewrite the ending so it was completely different. I did it and my teacher and my parents said it was really good. So I decided to post it on here...It's just a one-shot... not very long, two pages on Word, so not long on here, but I hope you like it!!**

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Jonas glanced quickly over his shoulder as he was riding his father's bike. He looked past Gabriel to the wide open field behind him to check if there were any planes of vehicles following. He was right in the middle of a huge field with no cover in case planes with heat sensors equipped showed up. If one of them did, he and the newchild would be as good as dead.

A few nights before, the lights of Jonas' community has disappeared into the distance. The community where he had been born and lived his whole life. But he knew he couldn't stay there. If he had, Gabe would be dead by now. Jonas still remembered the shock when he had found out what Release meant. He shuddered as he was riding; it was so horrible to kill people if they did something wrong.

Jonas' heart froze when he heard humming in the distance. _It must be a plane_, he thought frantically. He looked around, panicked, for somewhere to hide. He cried out in relief when he saw a group of short trees in the distance. His feet spun around as he pedaled faster to reach the trees. Gabe shrieked with delight as the wind whipped through his golden hair faster. Jonas smiled slightly at how carefree the newchild was.

The plane swept low over their heads. Jonas braked and stared as it touched down on the sand in front of them. His veins filled with ice as he watched two men, carrying what he now knew to be guns, step out of the belly of the plane. Jonas watched dumbfounded, not moving a muscle. The men calmly walked towards Gabe, Jonas, and his father's bicycle. They stopped about five feet in front of him, guns pointed at the two of them.

"Are you Jonas?" one of the men barked.

Jonas nodded, still too stunned to speak. The men started towards him again, weapons still pointed in his direction. A fleeting thought crossed Jonas' mind; _you should be running by now_. But he knew it was too late. Those men had come to take him and Gabriel, and running away wasn't always the answer.

The two men had reached him by now. One of them—the one who had spoken— grabbed Jonas roughly by the arm, and the other lifted Gabe out of his seat on the back of the bike.

"No!" Jonas gasped, realizing how much danger the newchild was in. "Don't hurt him!" he said desperately.

The man who had taken Gabriel just shook his head sadly, as if there was nothing he could do. He carried Gabe gently back to the plane and stepped in. Jonas struggled and tried to pull away, to save the newchild. He leaped off the bike, and it fell to the ground, useless.

The man who had him by the arm stuck the barrel of the gun into his back to make him stop fighting. Jonas slowly stopped twisting and writhing. Tears run down his cheeks; he knew what those men were going to do to him. Maybe not them, but somebody, was going to _kill _him and Gabriel. Maybe even Jonas' own father was going to do it. After all, he had "Released" the smaller twin. And who knew how many others there had been?

Jonas felt himself being led toward the plane. He didn't care anymore. He was going to die, and he knew it. He stepped inside the belly of the aircraft.

The door closed behind them, and the plane took off into the air. The ride felt like the longest thing Jonas had even been through. Even though he knew the actual trip was only about ten minutes, it felt like hours to him. Finally, the wheels touched down on pavement, and he felt himself wishing that the ride had been a little longer just so he could be with Gabriel for longer.

The door opened again and Jonas found himself staring at the hugest crowd of people he had ever seen. It seemed like the entire community was there, even the Old, their faces clouded with fear and pain. Jonas suddenly remembered all the memories that had been released to them, and felt a twinge of guilt. It was his fault they were in so much pain.

Jonas scanned the crowd for his parents and Lily, but before he could find them, he was led away from the crowd and toward the building that held the Releasing Room. _More like the Killing Room_, he thought wryly. He was led swiftly through the halls, and stopped in front of the door to the Killing Room—he decided to call it that from now on, although that wouldn't be a very long time.

The door to the room was opened, and he saw two people standing inside; a woman dressed in scrubs that looked like a Nurse, and… his father. Jonas gasped. Surely his own father wouldn't be doing the Release? He quickly searched the room, to see if there were any more people that would be eligible, but other than the Nurse, there was no one.

Jonas made the decision that _he_ would do his own Release. He couldn't bear to have his father do something like that. He stepped further into the room, and the door was closed behind him again.

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**Did you like it? Review and tell me what you think!**


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